Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 09th August 2026
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today’s Gospel gives us a powerful image that we can all recognise. It is night. The disciples are out on the lake. The wind is against them. The waves are crashing against the boat. Everything feels uncertain.
Perhaps, as we listen to this Gospel, many of us quietly say in our hearts, “That feels like my life.” Because we all experience storms. Sometimes it is the storm of illness. Sometimes it is the storm of family difficulties. Sometimes it is the worry we carry for our children or grandchildren. Sometimes it is loneliness. Sometimes it is the unexpected news that turns our lives upside down. Sometimes it is a cross that we carry in silence, one that no one else knows about. Sooner or later, every one of us finds ourselves caught in a storm.
What is striking in today’s Gospel is that the storm did not come because the disciples had done something wrong. In fact, they were exactly where Jesus had told them to be.
This reminds us of an important truth. Being close to Christ does not mean we will never face difficulties. Faith does not protect us from every storm. But it does promise that we will never face the storm alone.
Then something extraordinary happens. Jesus comes towards them, walking on the water. But they do not recognise him. They think he is a ghost.
How often do we do exactly the same? God is close, but we think he has abandoned us. God is quietly at work, but we think he is silent. God is walking beside us, but we feel completely alone.
Then Jesus speaks one of the most comforting sentences in the whole Gospel: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” He does not say, “The storm will disappear immediately.” He does not say, “Tomorrow your problems will be over.” Instead, he says something even more important: “It is I.” In other words, “I am here with you.” Sometimes that is the greatest miracle of all. Not that the storm disappears, but that God is present in the middle of it.
Pope Francis once said that God does not always save us from the storm; very often he saves us within the storm. What a beautiful truth.